Practical DevSecOps Certification Exam Journey

"To go faster, slow down." - Scott Cherf

TL;DR:

If you've ever wondered why DevSecOps is suddenly everywhere - this blog is your answer. I break it down from scratch. This blog walks you through the why behind DevSecOps in the simplest way possible, and points you toward a certification that's 100% hands-on. No theory dumping, no multiple choice - just real skills. If you're serious about this space, this is your starting point. 😊 

The result of all the hard work in this course looks like this! :-) 


Once you earn it, it's yours - for life.

No renewals. No expiry dates. No paying again just to keep a badge active. You put in the work once, you prove your skills once, and that certification stays on your profile forever. In a world where most certifications come with a countdown timer, that's honestly refreshing.


Part 1: Why DevSecOps? What It Means & Why Everyone's Talking About It

Let me take you back a few years.

A developer writes code for weeks, maybe months. The product looks great, the team is excited, launch day is approaching. Then, right before release, the security team gets their hands on it - and finds a dozen vulnerabilities. Everything grinds to a halt. Deadlines slip. Fingers get pointed. The security team is now the villain, the developers are frustrated, and the business is losing money by the day.

Sound familiar? This was the reality for most software teams, and honestly, it was nobody's fault. Security was just always treated as someone else's problem - something you dealt with at the end. Like checking for spelling errors after you've already printed a million copies of a book.

That's exactly the problem DevSecOps was born to fix.

1.1 So What Actually Is DevSecOps?

Dev (Development) + Sec (Security) + Ops (Operations).

Imagine you're a developer at a banking app company. You write a login feature and push your code. In the old world, that code goes through development, gets tested, gets deployed and three months later a security audit finds that you accidentally stored passwords in plain text. Now you're scrambling to fix a live system with real users and real money at stake.

In the DevSecOps world, the moment you push that code, an automated security tool immediately flags it "hey, passwords aren't being hashed properly"  before it ever leaves your laptop, basically. You fix it in 10 minutes. No crisis. No news headline.

1.2 Why Is DevSecOps Booming Right Now?

  • Cyberattacks aren't what they used to be
  • Software ships faster than ever.

1.3 Why Do Organizations Really Need This?

It's cheaper to fix things early. Research consistently shows that fixing a vulnerability in production can cost up to 100x more than catching it during development. 

Speed without security is just fast failure. There's this pressure to ship features constantly and rightfully so, because the market moves fast. But shipping fast while ignoring security is like driving 120 mph on a highway with no brakes. DevSecOps gives you the brakes without making you slow down.

Trust is the most valuable thing a company has. Users give you their data, their payment information, their private conversations. The moment they stop trusting you, they're gone and so the business.

1.4 The Real Challenges (Because It's Not All Smooth)

Culture is the hardest part. Developers and security teams have historically had a tense relationship. Developers want to move fast; security wants to slow down and check everything. Bringing them together requires a genuine shift in mindset and mindset shifts in large organizations don't happen overnight. People resist change. Teams protect their turf. Managers are skeptical of new processes. This is probably the single biggest barrier.

There's a serious skills shortage. DevSecOps sits at the intersection of development, security, and operations - three disciplines that already individually have talent gaps. Finding someone who understands all three, or building teams that can collaborate across all three, is genuinely hard. 

1.5 The Bottom Line

Let's be real - DevSecOps sounds great on paper, but actually implementing it? That's where things get messy. And this course comes into the picture - this will teach very basic way how things works.


Part 2: How To Actually Learn It - Practical DevSecOps Certification Breakdown

If you've been reading through everything above and thinking "okay, this all makes sense - but where do I actually learn this properly?"  let me point you to something genuinely useful.

Practical DevSecOps is one of those rare platforms that doesn't just dump theory at you and call it a day. Everything is hands-on, practical, and built in a way that actually prepares you for real work - not just an exam.

Here's what the journey looks like:

2.1 The Course - Built From the Ground Up

What I really appreciate about this course is that it doesn't assume you already know everything. It starts from the absolute basics and walks you through the entire DevSecOps landscape step by step.

Here's what the course covers:

                                                          Image Source: Practical DevSecOps portal


2.2 Hands-On Lab Access -  This Is Where It Gets Real

Once you enroll, you get access to a live lab environment based on your plan. This is honestly what sets this course apart from most others out there.

You're not watching someone else do things on a screen and hoping it clicks. You're actually building pipelines, running security scans, configuring tools, and solving real problems - from scratch. Every concept you read about, you immediately get to apply in a real environment. That gap between "I understand this in theory" and "I can actually do this at work" closes really fast when you're doing it with your own hands.

2.3 Take Notes - Seriously, Don't Skip This

This might sound obvious but it's worth saying out loud - take notes on everything. Every lab, every concept, every tool configuration. The course covers a lot of ground and the exam will test you on practical scenarios drawn directly from what you've studied. Your notes become your single best resource when you're in the middle of an exam challenge and need to recall exactly how you set something up three weeks ago. Future you will be very grateful.

Bonus Point 

Course Material: Once you enroll, you'll get three years of access to all course videos - giving you plenty of time to learn and revisit the content at your own pace.

Lab Access: Hands-on lab access is available for 30 to 60 days depending on the course you choose, so it's best to plan your practical sessions early.

2.4 The Exam - This Is Not Your Typical Test

Here's where Practical DevSecOps really stands out from other certifications - there are no multiple choice questions. None.

  • The exam is entirely project and task-oriented
  • You get 5 real challenges, each with hands-on tasks - the kind of things you'd actually encounter on the job. 
  • You need to score at least 80% to pass and earn your certification
  • And once you complete the exam, you have 24 hours to submit your exam report through their internal portal - so documentation and clarity of your work matters too, just like in a real professional setting.
  • Note: The Certified DevSecOps is open book exam.

Part 3: My Exam Journey

  • Scheduling smartly was my first decision - I booked my exam slot in the afternoon, which gave me the entire morning to do some last-minute revision and get into the right headspace before sitting down.
  • The exam itself is 6 hours long, and trust me, the clock moves faster than you think once you're in it. Before you even start, make sure you've had a proper meal - not a quick snack, a real meal. You'll thank yourself later.
  • There are 5 questions, each carrying different weightage, so my biggest tip here is to eat the big frog first - tackle the higher-weightage questions early while your mind is fresh and your energy is at its peak.
  • Your notes will be your best friend during the exam. I can't stress this enough - keep them clean, organized, and easily searchable. Whatever you've been building throughout your prep, make sure it's in a shape you can navigate quickly under pressure.
  • One thing I genuinely appreciated was that the DevSecOps team creates a dedicated support channel just for you during the exam. If you hit any technical or troubleshooting issues, they're right there. For me personally, the exam went smoothly and I didn't need to use it - but knowing that support exists is reassuring.
  • I managed to wrap up my exam about an hour before the deadline, which gave me some breathing room. After the 6-hour exam window, you get an additional 24 hours to prepare and submit your report - use every bit of that time wisely. Go through your notes, organize your screenshots, and structure your findings clearly before hitting submit.

Best of luck - you've got this!

Conclusion:

DevSecOps isn't the future anymore - it's the present. The sooner you understand it, the sooner you become someone organizations are actively looking for. And the best way to get there isn't reading more blogs - it's getting your hands dirty. That's exactly what Practical DevSecOps helps you do. Now you know where to start. 🚀


If you've made it this far, you're already more serious about this than most people.

The link below is your starting point to enroll for this course. Take your time - but don't wait too long. The right moment is usually right now. 👇 Best of luck. 


Ready to get started? 👉 Click Here to Enroll

 

Share this

Related Posts

Latest
Previous
Next Post »